Spotted garden-eel

Biology

This curious animal has a slender and circular shape, and can grow to 40 centimetres in length. It is easy to identify this species, due to the two characteristic black spots, and smaller dark dots that cover its white body. Lives in abundant colonies, of up to a few thousands individuals, in sandy areas, exposed to currents, at an average depth of 30 meters, where it feeds on drifting plankton.

Curiosities

The splendid garden-eel lives buried inside a tube in the sand, typically, only its head and uppermost body protrudes from the sand, and it will retreat quickly if it feels threatened. It may form large groups that truly resemble a beautiful planted garden of eels.